Department of Youth in Development

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Browsing Department of Youth in Development by Subject "338.04096825"

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    Youth Development Programmes and Their Role in Promoting Entrepreneurship and Employment Readiness: The Case of the Enke Organisation in Limpopo Province, South Africa
    (2026-05-19) Rankakane, Ngadi Pertunia; Thobejane, T. D.; Morwe, K. G.
    The maxims that young people are future leaders illustrate the importance of youth development in South Africa. Social ills are a global concern, with the majority of people affected by these issues being the youth. The acknowledgement of these issues has led to the development of initiatives to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to uplift themselves and their communities towards a sustainable future. While several studies have evaluated these programmes, little research has focused on the programmes’ effectiveness in promoting entrepreneurship. Against this background, the study investigates the effectiveness of a selected non-governmental organisation in fostering entrepreneurship and future employment success among youth while equipping them with skills and resources to develop their communities. The study was conducted in the rural-based Blouberg Local Municipality in the Senwabarwana area of Capricorn District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, focusing particularly on learners participating in the Enke Make Your Mark Programme. The study used a qualitative research approach, with story completion, semi-structured interviews and art-based methods to elicit data from the learners in selected schools. Non-probability sampling procedures were used to select twelve focus group participants and twenty-nine learners for the interviews, with the qualitative data analysed with Atlas.ti version 24 software. The study found that while the youth development programme played an essential role in the holistic development of young people, it failed to equip and prepare learners fully for entrepreneurship and future employment owing to contextual factors that hindered the translation of theoretical knowledge into tangible business ventures. It is recommended that youth development programmes and similar initiatives offer hands-on, experiential learning opportunities, provide long-term support to their beneficiaries, and engage a range of stakeholders to offer mentorship and resources to these learners.